Hug a Skunk Today

Yeah, yeah, skunks have a bad reputation. See one and run your little booty off before he points HIS at you and delivers a fragrance that’s nearly impossible to wash away.

But what do skunks have in common with cats, eggs … and cracks? Well, yes, three out of four of them ARE aromatic, but that’s not what I was getting at.

All of these have had a sneaky way of throwing themselves in front of my path over the past couple of weeks, until I finally acknowledged that a message was being given to me.

If you’ve ever read my blog, you already know about my interest in paying attention to reoccurrences around me. Whether the object of repetition is words, animals, or other items, I take in and analyze the meaning of them and how it relates to where I am at my stage in life.

For instance, on my recent drive home from vacation, we came across the scent of skunk after skunk … after skunk. There must have been at least six occurrences of nostril reverberations from the skunky bouquet. We have driven this trip many times and it was the first time we ever had such an experience.

I unconsciously filed the skunk memories away in my mental filing cabinet to refer back to later.

Next, I noticed the repetition of “cat” in my life. Several people I had contact with had variations of “cat” in their name. Two of these people go by “Cat” as a first name and the other two have a variation in their last name (with an alternate spelling).

I later noticed that there were many people in my life suddenly talking about getting “cracked,” mainly by chiropractors, although some were also talking about being “cracked up” as in laughing a lot. After that, I noticed conversations of eggs, chickens, and to a lesser extent, cracked eggs.

I know, I know, you’re probably sitting there cackling. You’re thinking this all sounds like a stretch, but I have to disagree.

It’s fine; you can believe that I’m a little bit … funny … and reading into things that are not there. However, whenever I acknowledge that the reoccurrences in my life are pieces of a puzzle meant for message delivery - and then once I solve the brainteaser - well, then the repetitions stop.

So once I mentally gathered all of the items that were popping up in my life, I did a little research. The first item on my list was the one that had left the biggest, or shall I say, smelliest impression – the skunk.

Ted Andrews’ section about skunks in his book Animal Speak explains: “The skunk does not get out of the way of any animal. It moves along at its own speed, with its own mind. It is self-assured and confident in itself. If skunk has shown up, it can be to help you with this particular aspect. It can teach you how to be more self-assured and how to assert yourself.”

In the full text, Andrews also writes that skunks teach how to give respect, expect respect, and demand respect; not only are skunks fearless, but peaceful as well. Andrews recommends researching tomatoes for education on “balancing medicine associated with the skunk” and also a study of aromatherapy is beneficial when skunks are prevalent.

I found this last part regarding aromatherapy interesting since I have a great love for the art of essential oils (thanks to brother dear).

Andrews’ blip about tomatoes took me over to the Alchemy Lab where I found that Europeans “placed them on windowsills to repel negative energies.”

Hmmm … interesting.

Okay, so on to the subject of cats.

It’s not completely absurd that I’m surrounded by cats. I’ve always found them to be irresistible; I was even called one once. Well, almost. One late night on the subway platform in New York City, a young teen stared at my misshapen pupil and said, “Whoa, she has cat eyes.”

But what do cats stand for? One might guess they are a symbol of independence. If you were one of those guessers, you are right; at least according to Ted Andrews.

Andrews’ also states that a wide variety of traits have been attributed to cats – curiosity, nine lives, independence, and healing - are the ones that caught my attention. Andrews also writes that “Cats have more rods in the retinas of their eyes, which enhances light perception. It enables them to see effectively in the dark.”

Hmmm … of course I read “dark” not as nighttime, but as negativity. Yeah, yeah, I know that’s not what he meant, but I’m trying to interpret the signals here.

Finally, as most people already know, eggs are a symbol of new life. And cracked? Well, after a little searching, I think perhaps it was a way of telling me that I had a code to crack.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you might be thinking. I’m a little cracked myself. But hey, if nothing else figuring out the meaning of these reoccurring themes makes life more fun (for me anyway).

Repelling negative energy, seeing in the “dark,” maintaining peacefulness, being aware of giving and receiving respect, and finally new life are the subject matter that have been seemingly thrown into my world. Perhaps I need to say WERE thrown in because since I’ve been writing this blog, the repetitions have dissipated.

Anyway, message received.

It’s a new year. I’m about to start a new job doing what I adore. There’s nothing else I can do but feel positive about this sparkle starting in the cycle of my own life.

So next time I see a skunk, I just might have to hug him. Well, okay, maybe not. But at least I will smile and thank him for delivering this message.